As of this writing, it's Monday afternoon. For some context, that means it's been nearly five entire days since the Minnesota Timberwolves took the floor for an NBA basketball game. After taking out the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, the Wolves had plenty of time off before beginning their second-round series, which will tip off Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, their opponent, the Golden State Warriors, have been locked into a battle with the Houston Rockets. No matter who came out of that series alive, Minnesota had the luxury of knowing they were going to be far more well-rested than their opponent.
But now that the Warriors have emerged victorious, the Timberwolves have to be thrilled with the situation that sits in front of them. No, not just because Golden State is now unquestionably tired. And not even because of Anthony Edwards' spirited remarks about wanting to play the Warriors in the playoffs.
The biggest reason Wolves fans can have optimism is centered around the way Houston was able to bully Golden State on the interior with their two-big lineups, particularly with Steven Adams' big performance in Game 6 of that series.
Minnesota's two-big lineups are far more lethal than Houston's
Adams put up 17 points and three blocks in that elimination game, which the Rockets of course won. It was a stark reminder of the lack of interior size and depth the Warriors have. Knowing their own roster strengths, this had to be pleasing for the Timberwolves to see.
Obviously, Minnesota runs plenty of two-big lineups as well (Which, by the way, it's funny that we're basically getting back to standard power forward/center lineups in a lot of cases around the league and the inclination is still to call them "two-big lineups," but that's another conversation altogether. I digress). The biggest difference, of course, between the Rockets and Timberwolves here being the massive skill gap.
Between Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert, you have three pretty unique skillsets that can be mixed and matched and used to frustrate opponents in all different ways. One way in which Minnesota can burn Golden State in particular here is through the outside shooting ability of Randle and Reid.
Not to mention the fact that the Wolves, unlike Houston, have a true go-to scorer that's an unstoppable force one-on-once. That fact is going to significantly increase the effectiveness of Minnesota's bigs as well.
We can acknowledge that the Rockets' physical defense would be hard for any team to play against in a playoff setting, while also recognizing that the Timberwolves have far more capable personnel to make life difficult for this Warriors team. It won't be an easy series by any means, but this is the matchup Minnesota should have been hoping for.